Seven students traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, for DECA internationals May 2-6. Ashlie Meckley (12) finished in the Top Ten for Entrepreneurship Written Franchise Event with more than 16,000 students competing from around the world.

“DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) was like nothing I could have ever imagined,” Meckley said. “When they called my name I was so excited I was literally shaking. Nothing can compare to that moment when you accomplish something as great as top 10 at an international competition. Being in the top 10 in the field I am pursuing in college is my greatest accomplishment and showed me that hard work really does pay off.”

Beginning preparations in January, Meckley wrote seven drafts of written business plans for Rita’s Italian Ice and practiced her 15-minute presentation hundreds of times.

When at Internationals, Meckley competed against 75 other international qualifiers in preliminaries and was declared a finalist, in which she moved on to compete against the top 15 in her section. She was then announced as the top ten at the Grand Awards Ceremony in which she received a medal.

This is the first time since 2007 that McNeil has had a top ten winner. This year only two students from Round Rock ISD placed as top ten finalists at DECA ICDC.

“I could not have gotten this far without my advisors Ms. [Vera] Cruz and Ms. [Gloria] Evans and the support of Rita’s Italian Ice owner Frank Assorgi,” Meckley said. “I am extremely grateful for what they have helped me accomplish. Not only did I learn a lot about business through this competition, I also realized that when it comes down to it, you have to trust yourself and know that you have prepared the best you can, not worry about the small things and just trust yourself and keeping going. Being around other students that had the same interest as me made me feel at home. I talked to people from different states and countries who all had a passion for business. I am so happy I got to be a part of DECA and compete in an international competition; it truly made my senior year.”